When we first heard NJOMZA, my esteemed colleague Constant Gardner was singing the praises of her woozily erotic “High.” Some four months later, the singer has rolled out her debut mixtape, GOLD LION.

NJOMZA’s alluring performances and a cohesive, moody collection of beats (primarily from Chicago production team THEMpeople) make for an impressive debut statement, a set that careens through love and lust, sonically tracking the thin line between agony and ecstasy. It’s imperfect–perhaps a bit overlong for this particular sound, a fact highlighted when you hold GOLD LION up against a close comparison like any one of the The Weeknd’s trilogy of mixtapes–but its best moments suggest a promising talent that fits nicely in the current landscape of R&B and the darkest corners of pop.